<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Alpine Technical Notes: Command Line Arguments</TITLE></HEAD><BODY>
<H1>Command Line Arguments</H1>

<H2><A NAME="alpine">Alpine</A></H2>
  
<EM>Alpine</EM> and <EM>PC-Alpine</EM> can accept quite a few
command-line arguments.
Many of these arguments overlap with variables
in the <EM>Alpine</EM> configuration file.
If there is a difference, then a flag set in the command line takes precedence.
Both <EM>Alpine</EM> and <EM>PC-Alpine</EM> expect command line arguments (other
than addresses) to be
preceded by the "-" (dash) as normally used by UNIX programs.
<P>

<DL COMPACT>

<DT> <EM>[addresses]</EM>

<DD> Send-to:  If you give <EM>Alpine</EM> an argument or arguments which
do not begin with a dash, <EM>Alpine</EM> treats them as email addresses.
<EM>Alpine</EM> will startup in
the composer with a message started to the addresses specified.
Once the message is sent, the <EM>Alpine</EM> session closes.
Standard input redirection is allowed.
Separate multiple addresses with a space between them.
Addresses are placed in the &quot;To&quot; field only.
<P>

<DT> &lt; <EM>file</EM>

<DD> <EM>Alpine</EM> will startup in the composer with <EM>file</EM> read
into the body of the message.
Once the message is sent, the <EM>Alpine</EM> session closes. 
<P>

<DT> -attach <EM>file</EM>

<DD> Go directly into composer with given file attached.
<P>

<DT> -attachlist <EM>file-list</EM>

<DD> Go directly into composer with given files attached.
This must be the last option on the command line.
<P>

<DT> -attach_and_delete <EM>file</EM>

<DD> Go directly into composer with given file attached, delete when finished.
<P>

<DT> -aux <EM>local_directory</EM>

<DD> <EM>PC-Alpine</EM> only.
This tells <EM>PC-Alpine</EM> the local directory to use for storing auxiliary
files, like debug files, address books, and signature files.  The pinerc may 
be local or remote.
<P>

<DT> -nosplash

<DD> <EM>PC-Alpine</EM> only.
This tells <EM>PC-Alpine</EM> to not display the splash screen upon startup.
This may be helpful for certain troubleshooting or terminal server scenarios.
<P>

<DT> -bail

<DD> If the personal configuration file doesn't already exist, exit.
This might be useful if the configuration file is accessed using some
remote filesystem protocol. If the remote mount is missing this will cause
<EM>Alpine</EM> to quit instead of creating a new pinerc.
<P>

<DT> -c <EM>n</EM>

<DD> When used with the <CODE>-f</CODE> option, apply the <EM>n</EM>th context.
This is used when there are multiple folder collections (contexts) and you 
want to open a folder not in the primary collection.
<P>

<DT> -conf

<DD> Configuration: Prints a sample system configuration file to the
screen or standard output. To generate an initial system configuration 
file, execute

<PRE><CODE>
		alpine -conf > /usr/local/lib/pine.conf
</CODE></PRE>
<P>

To generate a system configuration file using settings from an old
system configuration file, execute

<PRE><CODE>
		alpine -P old-pine.conf -conf > /usr/local/lib/pine.conf
</CODE></PRE>
<P>
A system configuration file is not required.
<P>

<DT> -convert_sigs <EM>-p pinerc</EM>

<DD> Convert signatures contained in signature files into literal signatures.
<P>

<DT> <A NAME="copy_abook">-copy_abook <EM>&lt;local_abook_file&gt; &lt;remote_abook_folder&gt;</EM>

<DD> Copy an address book file to a remote address book folder.
If the remote folder doesn't exist, it will be created.
If it exists but the first message in the folder isn't a remote address
book header message, the copy will be aborted.
This flag will not usually be used by a user.
Instead, the user will create a remote address book from within <EM>Alpine</EM>
and copy entries from the local address book by using aggregate Save in
the address book screen.
<P>

<DT>  <A NAME="copy_pinerc">-copy_pinerc <EM>&lt;local_pinerc_file&gt; &lt;remote_pinerc_folder&gt;</EM>

<DD> Copy a pinerc configuration file to a remote pinerc folder.
If the remote folder doesn't exist, it will be created.
If it exists but the first message in the folder isn't a remote pinerc
header message, the copy will be aborted.
This flag may be useful to users who already have a local pinerc file and
would like to convert it to a remote pinerc folder and use that instead.
This gives a way to bootstrap that conversion without having to manually
reset all of the variables in the remote pinerc folder.
<P>

<DT> -d <EM>debug-level</EM>

<DD> Debug Level:  Sets the level of debugging information written by
<EM>Alpine</EM>.
<EM>Debug-level</EM> can be set to any integer 0-9.
A debug level of 0 turns off debugging for the session.
(Actually there are some levels higher than 9, but you probably don't
want to see them. Sensitive authentication information is hidden at
levels less than 10.)
<P>

<DT> -d <EM>keywords</EM>

<DD> You may use a more detailed version of the debugging flag to set
the debug level in separate parts of <EM>Alpine</EM>.
The possibilities are flush, timestamp, imap=0..4, tcp, numfiles=0..31, and
verbose=0..9.
<EM>Flush</EM> causes debugging information to be flushed immediately to
the debug file as it is written.
<EM>Verbose</EM> is the general debugging verbosity level.
<EM>Timestamp</EM> causes timestamps to be added to the debug file, which
is useful when you are trying to figure out what is responsible for delays.
<EM>Numfiles</EM> sets the number of debug files saved.
<EM>Imap</EM> sets the debug level for the debugging statements related
to the conversation with the IMAP server, and more generally, for the
debugging related to <EM>Alpine</EM>'s interaction with the C-Client library.
If <EM>imap</EM> is set higher than 4, sensitive authentication information
will be included in the debug file.
<EM>Tcp</EM> adds more TCP/IP debugging information.
<P>

<DT> -f <EM>folder</EM>

<DD> Startup folder:  <EM>Alpine</EM> will open this folder in place
of the standard INBOX.
<P>

<DT> -F <EM>file</EM>

<DD> Open named text file for viewing and forwarding.
<P>

<DT> -h

<DD> Help:  Prints the list of available command-line arguments to the
screen.
<P>

<DT> -i

<DD> <EM>Alpine</EM> will start up in the FOLDER INDEX
screen instead of the MAIN MENU.
<P>

Configuration equivalent:  <EM>initial-keystroke-list=i</EM>.
<P>

<DT> -I <EM>a,b,c,...</EM>

<DD> Initial Keystrokes:  <EM>Alpine</EM> will execute this comma-separated
sequence of commands upon startup.
This allows users to get <EM>Alpine</EM> to start in any
of its menus/screens.
You cannot include any input to the composer in the initial keystrokes.
The key &lt;Return&gt; is represented by a ``CR'' in
the keystroke list; the spacebar is designated by the letters ``SPACE''.
Control keys are two character sequences beginning with ``^'', such as
``^I''.
A tab character is ``TAB''.
Function keys are ``F1'' - ``F12'' and the arrow keys are ``UP'',
``DOWN'', ``LEFT'', and ``RIGHT''.
A restriction is that you can't mix function keys and character keys in this
list even though you can, in some cases, mix them when running <EM>Alpine</EM>.
A user can always use only <EM>character</EM> keys in the startup list even
if he or she is using <EM>function</EM> keys normally, or vice versa.
If an element in this list is a string of characters surrounded by double
quotes (&quot;) then it will be expanded into the individual characters in
the string, excluding the double quotes.
<P>

Configuration equivalent:  <EM>initial-keystroke-list</EM>
<P>

<DT> -install

<DD> For <EM>PC-Alpine</EM> only, this option prompts for some basic
setup information, then exits.
<P>

<DT> -k

<DD> Function-Key Mode:  When invoked in this way, <EM>Alpine</EM> expects
the input of commands to be function-keys.
Otherwise, commands are linked to the regular character keys.
<P>

Configuration equivalent:  <EM>use-function-keys</EM> included in
<EM>feature-list</EM>.
<P>

<DT> -n <EM>n</EM>

<DD> Message-Number:  When specified, <EM>Alpine</EM> starts up in the
FOLDER INDEX screen with the current message being the specified
message number.
<P>

<DT> -nowrite_password_cache

<DD> This tells <EM>Alpine</EM> to use the local password cache if there is one, but to
never offer writing new passwords to the cache.
<P>

<DT> -o <EM>folder</EM>

<DD> Opens the INBOX (or a folder specified via the -f argument) ReadOnly. 
<P>

<DT> -p <EM>pinerc</EM>

<DD> Uses the named file as the personal configuration file instead of
<EM>~/.pinerc</EM> or the default PINERC search sequence <EM>PC-Alpine</EM> uses.
Pinerc may be either a local file or a remote configuration folder.
<P>

<DT> -P <EM>pinerc</EM>

<DD> Uses the named file as the system wide configuration file instead of
<EM>/usr/local/lib/pine.conf</EM> on UNIX, or nothing on <EM>PC-Alpine</EM>.
Pinerc may be either a local file or a remote configuration folder.
<P>

<DT> -passfile <EM>passfile</EM>

<DD> This tells <EM>Alpine</EM> what file should be used as the password file.
This should be a fully-qualified filename.
<P>

<DT> -pinerc <EM>file</EM>

<DD> Output fresh pinerc configuration to <EM>file</EM>, preserving the
settings of variables that the user has made.
Use <EM>file</EM> set to ``-'' to make output go to standard out.
<P>

<DT> -r

<DD> Restricted Mode:  For UNIX <EM>Alpine</EM> only.
<EM>Alpine</EM> in restricted mode can only send email to itself.
Save and export are limited.
<P>

<DT> -registry <EM>cmd</EM>

<DD> For <EM>PC-Alpine</EM> only, this option affects the values of 
<EM>Alpine</EM>'s registry entries.
Possible values for <EM>cmd</EM> are set, noset, clear, clearsilent, and dump.
<EM>Set</EM> will always reset <EM>Alpine</EM>'s registry 
entries according to its current settings.
<EM>NoSet</EM> will never set any values in the registry, but it will
still use the values already set in the registry.
<EM>Clear</EM> will clear the registry values.
<EM>Clearsilent</EM> will silently clear the registry values.
<EM>Dump</EM> will display the values of current registry settings.
Note that the dump command is currently disabled.
Without the -registry option, <EM>PC-Alpine</EM> will write values into
the registry only if there currently aren't any values set.
<P>

<DT> -sort <EM>key</EM>

<DD> Sort-Key:  Specifies the order messages will be displayed in for the
FOLDER INDEX screen.
<EM>Key</EM> can have the following values: 
arrival, date, subject, orderedsubj, thread, from, size, score, to, cc,
arrival/reverse, date/reverse, subject/reverse, orderedsubj/reverse, thread/reverse,
from/reverse, size/reverse, score/reverse, to/reverse, and cc/reverse.
The default value is &quot;arrival&quot;.
The <EM>key</EM> value reverse is equivalent to arrival/reverse.
<P>

Configuration equivalent:  <EM>sort-key</EM>.
<P>

<DT> -supported

<DD> Some options may or may not be supported depending on how <EM>Alpine</EM>
was compiled.
This is a way to determine which options are supported in the particular
copy of <EM>Alpine</EM> you are using.
<P>

<DT> -install

<DD> For <EM>PC-Alpine</EM> only, this option removes references to Alpine
in Windows settings.  The registry settings are removed and
the password cache is cleared.
<P>

<DT> -url <EM>url</EM>

<DD> Open the given URL.
<P>

<DT> -v

<DD> Version:  Print version information to the screen.
<P>

<DT> -version

<DD> Version:  Print version information to the screen.
<P>

<DT> -x <EM>exceptions_config</EM>

<DD> Configuration settings in the exceptions config override your normal
default settings.
<EM>Exceptions_config</EM> may be either a local file or a remote pinerc folder.
<P>

<DT> -z

<DD> Enable Suspend:  When run with this flag, the key sequence ctrl-z
will suspend the <EM>Alpine</EM> session.
<P>

Configuration equivalent:  <EM>enable-suspend</EM> included in
<EM>feature-list</EM>.
<P>

<DT> -<EM>option</EM>=<EM>value</EM>

<DD> Assign <EM>value</EM> to the config option <EM>option</EM>.
For example, <EM>-signature-file=sig1</EM> or
<EM>-feature-list=signature-at-bottom</EM>.
(Note:  feature-list values are
additive and features may be preceded with no- to turn them off).
<P>

</DL>
<P>

<H2><A NAME="pico">Pico</A></H2>

The following command line options are supported in <EM>Pico</EM>:

<DL>

<DT> +<EM>n</EM>

<DD> Causes <EM>Pico</EM> to be started with the cursor located <EM>n</EM>
lines into the file. (Note: no space between "+" sign and number) <P>

<DT> -a

<DD> Display all files and directories, including those beginning
with a period (.). <P>

<DT> -b

<DD> Enable the option to Replace text matches found using the
"Where is" command. This now does nothing. Instead, the option is
always turned on (as if the -b flag had been specified). <P>

<DT> -d

<DD> Rebind the "delete" key so the character the cursor is on is rubbed
out rather than the character to its left.  <P>

<DT> -e

<DD>Enable file name completion. <P>

<DT> -f

<DD> Use function keys for commands.  <I>This option supported only in
conjunction with UW Enhanced NCSA telnet.</I> <P>

<DT> -g

<DD> Enable "Show Cursor" mode in file browser.  Cause cursor to be
positioned before the current selection rather than placed at the lower
left of the display. <P>

<DT> -k

<DD>Causes "Cut Text" command to remove characters from the cursor
position to the end of the line rather than remove the entire line. <P>

<DT> -m

<DD> Enable mouse functionality.  This only works when <EM>Pico</EM> is
run from within an X Window System "xterm" window. <P>

<DT>-n<EM>n</EM>

<DD> The -n<EM>n</EM> option enables new mail notification.  The
<EM>n</EM> argument is optional, and specifies how often, in seconds, your
mailbox is checked for new mail.  For example, -n60 causes <EM>Pico</EM>
to check for new mail once every minute.  The default interval is 180
seconds, while the minimum allowed is 30. (Note: no space between "n" and
the number) <P>

<DT> -o <EM>dir</EM>

<DD> Sets operating directory.  Only files within this directory are
accessible.  Likewise, the file browser is limited to the specified
directory subtree. <P>

<DT> -p

<DD> Preserve the &quot;start&quot; and &quot;stop&quot; characters, typically Ctrl-Q
 and Ctrl-S, which are sometimes used in communications paths to control data flow
between devices that operate at different speeds.<P>

<DT> -q

<DD> TermdefWins. Termcap or terminfo escape sequences are used in preference
to default escape sequences.<P>

<DT> -Q <EM>quotestr</EM>

<DD> Set the quote string.  Especially useful when composing email, setting this 
allows the quote string to be checked for when Justifying paragraphs.
A common quote string is "> ".<P>

<DT> -r<EM>n</EM>

<DD> Sets column used to limit the "Justify" command's right margin. <P>

<DT> -t

<DD> Enable "tool" mode.  Intended for when <EM>Pico</EM> is used as the
editor within other tools (e.g., Elm, Pnews).  <EM>Pico</EM> will not
prompt for save on exit, and will not rename the buffer during the "Write
Out" command. <P>

<DT> -v

<DD> View the file only, disallowing any editing. <P>

<DT> -version

<DD> Print version information. <P>

<DT> -w

<DD> Disable word wrap (thus allow editing of long lines).  <P>

<I>Note: <EM>Pico</EM> will break any lines over 255 characters when reading a
file, regardless of word wrapping.</I> <P>

<DT> -x

<DD> Disable keymenu at the bottom of the screen. <P>

<DT> -z

<DD> Enable ^Z suspension of <EM>Pico</EM>. <P>

</DL>

<H2><A NAME="pilot">Pilot</A></H2>

The following command line options are supported in <EM>Pilot</EM>:

<DL>

<DT> -a

<DD> Display all files including those beginning with a period (.). <P>

<DT> -f

<DD> Use function keys for commands.  <I>This option supported only in
conjunction with UW Enhanced NCSA telnet.</I> <P>

<DT> -g

<DD> Enable "Show Cursor" mode.  Cause cursor to be positioned before the
current selection rather than placed at the lower left of the display. <P>

<DT> -m

<DD> Enable mouse functionality.  This only works when <EM>Pilot</EM> is
run from within an X Window System "xterm" window. <P>

<DT> -n<EM>n</EM>

<DD> The -n<EM>n</EM> option enables new mail notification.  The
<EM>n</EM> argument is optional, and specifies how often, in seconds, your
mailbox is checked for new mail.  For example, -n60 causes <EM>Pilot</EM>
to check for new mail once every minute.  The default interval is 180
seconds, while the minimum allowed is 30. (Note: no space between "n" and
the number) <P>

<DT> -o <EM>dir</EM>

<DD>Sets operating directory.  Only files within the specified directory
are accessible and browsing is limited to the specified directory subtree.
<P>

<DT> -v

<DD> Enable single vertical column display. <P>

<DT> -x

<DD> Disable keymenu at the bottom of the screen. <P>

<DT> -z

<DD> Enable ^Z suspension of <EM>Pilot</EM>.

</DL>

<!-- pnuts -->

</BODY>
</HTML>
